Tray compartment for refrigerating cabinets



June 30, 1931. T. c. WHITEHEAD 1,812,070

TRAY COMPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATING' CABINETS Filed'OCt 14, 1929 r WX INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented June 30, 1931 UNITED STATES THOMAS C. WHITEHEAD,

OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN TRAY COMPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATING CABINETS Application filed October 14, 1929. Serial No. 399,536.

This linvention relates generally to cabinets for refrigerating apparatus.

One of the essential objects of the invention is to provide a refrigerator cabinet in which f.'- the ice tray compartment is built in as a part of the cabinet, is independent of and insulated from the food chamber or compartment, that extends through a wall of the cabinet, and is provided with a. door that is independ-- 10 ent of other doors of the cabinet, whereby the ice trays are entirely free from odors or from frost caused by the high humidity of food within the food chamber, and the ice tray and food compartments are independently acces- 15 sible.

Another object is to provide a cabinet of the type described in which a portion of the expansion coils of the refrigerating apparatus is embedded in the walls of the ice tray 20 compartment to cool the same, and another portion of the expansion coils, constituting an extension of the lirst-mentioned portion, is located within the food compartment for cooling the same.

lith the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel fea tures of construction, combinations and arrangements of parts that will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a cabinet embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional ure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 is a cabinet designed for refrigerating apparatus and having top, side, front and rear walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively containing insulating ma- -terial 6, such as cork. 7 and 8 are vertically spaced horizontal partitions also containing insulating material and dividing the cabinet vertically into three independent chambers or compartments 9, and 11 respectively. As shown, these partitions 7 and 8 connect into the walls 3, 4, and 5 and are imperforate so that the compartments 9, 10 and 11 are enview through the construction shown in Fig.

tircly separa-te and insulated from each other. Preferably 9 is the machine compartment and contains the compressor, motor, condenser, fan and, in some instances, the expansion valve (not shown) of a refrigerating apparatus. 10 is the food compartment and may bc provided with any desired number of shelves (not shown), and 1l ,is the ice tray compartment which may, if desired, be provided with shelves.

In the present instance each of the compartments 9, 10 and 11 open outwardly through the front wall 4 of the cabinet and are provided with separate and independently operable doors 1Q, 13 and 14 respectively. The lower door 12 may be any suitable construction, is preferably removable or hinged so that the machine in the chamber 9 is accessible, and is preferably provided with louvers 15 to admit air from the atmosphere to the compartment 9, While the food compartment and tray compartment doors 13 and 14 respectively are hingedly connected to the front wall 4 and have insulated portions 16 and 17 respectively normally fitting Within and sealing the compartment openings 18 and 19 respectively in the front wall for the cabinet.

With the present construction a portion 20 of the refrigerant expansion coils is embedded in the top wall 2 and partition 8 for cooling the compartment 11, and another portion 21 constituting an extension of the portion 2O is suspended within the partition 8 within the food compartment 10 to cool the latter. Preferably the coils of the portion 20 are substantially vertically disposed and surround the ice tray compartment 11, while the coils ofthe portion 21 are horizontally disposed and extend in a common plane transversely of the cabinet at the top of the food compartment. Thus the tray compartment 11 Will have an exceedingly 10W temperature and the food compartment 10 will be eiiciently and effectively cooled.

`While it is believed that from the foregoing description the nature and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent, I desire to have it understood that I do not limit myself to what is herein shown and described and that such changes may be resorted to when desired as fall within the scope of what is claimed.

What I claim as my'invention is:

In combination, a refrigerator cabinet having a front wall provided with vertically spaced openings and provided between said openings with a substantially horizontal partition that projects rearwardly from said front wall and cooperates with the top, back and side walls of the cabinet to form upper and lower chambers, the upper chamberbeing designed to receive ice trays, and the lower chamber being designed to receive food, and means for cooling said chambers including refrigerant tubing embedded in the top and side walls of the cabinet and in said partition, whereby such tubing encircles the ice tray chamber, and having coiled portions arranged in substantially a horizontal plane below said partition but above the opening to the food chamber whereby such coils may cool said chamber but are out of the path of food being placed therein or removed therefrom through the opening thereto in the front wall aforesaid of the cabinet.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

THOMAS C. WHITEHEAD. 

